Alf Lechner, one of Germany’s most important contemporary sculptors, died suddenly at his home in Bavaria on February 25th, 2017. Lechner was 91 years old.

Best known for his massive steel sculptures, Lechner connected steel, space, geometry, physics and architecture. The starting point for his work was geometric shapes such as the circle, square, rectangle or cuboid from which he produced provocatively shaped steel sculpture through welding, breaking, cutting and compressing.

Alf Lechner

Alf Lechner

Alf Lechner

Alf Lechner

“If it doesn’t show resistance, I’m not interested,” Lechner used to say. A strong-willed, self-made-man and an intelligent provocateur, Lechner enjoyed the controversy that erupted around his art and accompanied him throughout his career.

Lechner’s sculpture can found at the Nationalgalerie Berlin, the Alte Pinakothek Munich, the Städel Museum Frankfurt and the Kunstsammlung K21 Düsseldorf and the Lechner Museum in Ingolstadt and the large Sculpture Park in Obereichstätt.

The renown art historian and former director of the Brandhorst Museum, Munich, Armin Zweite, points to the significance of Lechner’s oeuvre in an international context: “With his work (Lechner) manifests a position that connects him to Richard Serra, Donald Judd and So Le Witt. His work continues the dialogue between Europe and America.”

Simone Schimpf, Director of the German contemporary Museum für Konkrete Kunst, says: “Alf Lechner was one of the most important German steel sculptors. He knew no limits when working with steel and always went to the edge of possibility.”